Focus on a smaller service area for your mowing route

When you first start out it may seem counter intuitive to try to focus on a smaller geographical area to focus on and provide your service.  From my experience though, this can be simple way to maximize your marketing efforts and increase your bottom line, particularly if you work in a densely populated city.

When I first started out I found myself spending so much time driving across town to mow one or two lawns, then having to drive again to another part of the city to service a couple more lawns. Not only does all this driving around equal a lot of wasted unpaid time, but it also amounts to a whole heck of a lot of fuel being burned for the truck, especially when pulling a trailer.

In 2010, my family and I decided that we were going to move to a different part of the city that we lived in.  With this big change I decided that this would be a great opportunity to change things up in my business.  I decided to leave the franchise model behind and start over from scratch.  I started up a new lawn care business and named it after the new neighbourhood we had moved to.  I focused all of my branding and marketing efforts on that small community.

I was expecting that starting over again it would take a few years to gain some traction, but I was pleasantly surprised that my new brand, and marketing strategy, started showing positive results quickly in the first year.  I quickly replaced all of the clients I had lost from leaving the franchise, and people seemed to love my local community based business. I found that I could finish my day quicker because my mowing was now in a tightly condensed route.  This also resulted in significant fuel savings, instantly increasing my bottom line, and because I was always driving around the same community, it increased my brand visibility, resulting in more calls for work.  As a added bonus, because I am always close to home now, I will stop in for lunch or to use the restroom whenever needed.  I am now also always close to my kids schools.

So I would end by saying the old cliché of “If I had to do it all over again I’d…..” but that’s exactly what I did.  I started over from scratch, mid way through my career, and I made dramatic changes to my business, based on my experiences, including focusing on a smaller area, and it has worked out great for me.  So if you are in a densely populated city, think about refocusing your efforts, and branding on a smaller geographical area.